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Light, flaky and so easy to do, you’ll love how quickly these buttermilk biscuits come together.

There’s nothing quite like a piping hot, fresh biscuit straight from the oven. It’s like the best of my childhood coming out of the oven. Light, flaky, and ready for loads of butter and jam.

When I got older and on my own, I resorted to buying the cans of biscuits. You know, the kind that will “pop” when you open them? Sure, they are good, but we all know nothing beats the taste of homemade.

What kind of flour do I need for these homemade biscuits?

I use all purpose flour for these. You can use plain white flour, or whole wheat flour in this recipe. Or, you can also use a combination of both.

I have found that all whole wheat flour works well, but the biscuits don’t rise quite as much, and they are a bit heavy. If you choose to use whole wheat flour only, just be prepared for that.

Do I really need to use a biscuit cutter for biscuits?

I think we all know someone, or someone’s Grandma who cut their biscuits with a glass. And, honestly, that works. But, if you want those “mile high biscuits” you really need to use a biscuit cutter.

The reason you want to use a biscuit cutter over a glass is that the sharp end of the cutter allows a clean, even cut and still leaves room for the biscuit to rise. A glass can “seal” the edges, and you won’t get as high of a rise.

Ingredients you need

• Flour
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Baking soda
• Cold butter or shortening
• Buttermilk

Making your homemade buttermilk biscuits

1. Preheat oven.
2. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.
3. Add in cold butter or shortening and cut in until mixture is crumbly.
4.  Add buttermilk and combine just until all flour mixture is mixed in.  
5. Pat the dough out on floured counter, then cut out biscuits.
6. Place on parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake in oven. Brush the tops with melted butter if desired. Serve hot.

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What kind of fat should I really use?

You will want to use a saturated fat for these. You can use all butter, tallow, lard, or a combination of the two. If you need to be dairy free, you can skip the butter and use all tallow, which is rendered beef fat.

You can replace some of the butter for coconut oil, being sure to cut it in while in solid form.

Why buttermilk? Can’t I use regular milk?

When buttermilk mixes with the baking powder, it acts as a leavening agent, helping to get that rise of biscuit you want. However, if you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can use regular milk.

I would suggest adding in 1 teaspoon of white vinegar to each cup of milk and allowing it to sit for 5 minutes first. This will help you achieve the same results that buttermilk gives. The flavor will also be similar.

Other tips to remember for the best homemade biscuits ever:

• Make sure to cut the butter in fully. If you leave large chunks of butter in the flour mixture, it will not be mixed in fully. The butter can melt while baking and cause some of the biscuits to fall. Other biscuits will not have as much flakiness due to lack of butter. So, cut it in as much as you can.
• You will want to have the freshest baking powder you can. Older baking powder wont’ give as much rise to your biscuit recipe. You will want to replace your baking powder every 6 months or so, for the best success.